Second Annual National Championship - Archived Standings

Dave Soutar of Detroit emerged from the second annual Professional Bowlers Association National Championship as the youngest man ever to win that title. It was only the second annual National title and Soutar's 21 years of age at winning was duplicated two years later in New York.

An excellent bowler in the Motor City, Soutar's dramatic triumph over Chicago's Morrie Oppenheim in the finals was no fluke. In fact, Soutar was among the leaders from the first day of the firing, which was held in Cleveland's fabulous Eastgate Coliseum. He first led the 30-game qualifying round and moved into the head-to-head competition against 23 rivals.

Arrayed against Soutar were the nation's greatest bowlers, but he remained calm and concentrated while piling up 19 victories against eight losses in the final rounds. In the first position round of the final competition, Soutar was being pressed closely by Oppenheim. But in the sixth frame he converted a difficult 4-7-9-10 splt, and one frame later Oppenheim missed the same split. That proved to be the clincher for Soutar, who collected a $6,000 check for his effort.

Don Carter, the defending PBA National Champion from St. Louis, finished 17th in this one but he had an excuse. In the middle of the finals, he chartered a plane out of Cleveland to New York where he became the first to "Make That Spare" on the nationally televised American Broadcasting Company show. And, he did fairly well for the weekend, collecting $17,000 for the TV effort and another $650 for his 17th-place finish. One week later he was to return to New York and again convert the spare for another $5,000 payoff.

Soutar, a gangly youth at 6-3 and 190 pounds, was at his modest best when presented the $6,000 first prize. "Naturally, this is the biggest thrill in my life," he said. "This is a prestige tournament and I hope I can carry on in the manner that all national champions should."

SCORES OF FINALISTS

Name, City/State

Pins

WLT

Avg

Amount

1

Dave Soutar, Detroit, Mich.

5792

19-8-0

212.02

$6,000

2

Morrie Oppenheim, Chicago, Ill.

5719

18-9-0

208.19

3,500

3

Don Ellis. Houston, Tex.

5690

18-9-0

207.20

2,000

4

Dick Weber, St. Louis, Mo.

5667

18-9-0

206.27

1,750

5

Billy Welu, St. Louis, Mo.

6603

16-11-0

202.23

1,500

6

Ray Bluth, St. Louis, Mo.

5632

15-12-0

202.22

1,250

7

Robbie Robinson, Wilmington, Del.

6556

17-9-1

202.20

1,000

8

Harry Smith, Baltimore, Md.

6564

17-10-0

202.14

950

9

Don Scott, Cleveland, Ohio

5619

15-12-0

202.09

900

10

Pat Patterson, St. Louis. Mo.

5620

15-12-0

199.00

850

11

John Till, Philadelphia. Pa.

5489

15-11-1

198.14

800

12

Joe Ostroski, Philadelphia, Pa.

6492

13-14-0

196.02

775

13

John Guenther, Seattle, Wash.

5430

15-12-0

196.00

750

14

Bill Allen, Orlando, Fla.

5427

13-13-1

194.12

725

15

Glenn Allison, St. Louis, Mo.

5490

11-16-0

194.00

700

16

Joe Donato, Schenectady, N.Y.

5413

12-15-0

192.13

675

17

Don Carter, St. Louis, Mo.

5386

12-15-0

191.16

650

18

Dick Hoover, Akron, Ohio

5382

10-17-0

189.12

625

19

George King, St. Louis, Mo.

5278

11-15-1

187.13

600

20

Stan Gifford, Abilene, Tex.

5229

10-17-0

184.09

550

21

Joe Milazzo, Lansing, Ill.

5195

11-16-0

184.05

525

22

Bill Flynn, Cleveland, Ohio

5246

9-18-0

188.26

500

23

Bill Landowski, Fortuna, Calif.

5240

6-21-0

180.20

475

24

Pic Wucherpfennig, Minneapolis, Minn.

5047

5-22-0

178.07

450

SEMI-FINALISTS

Pos.

Name, City/State

Amount

25

Wayne Zahn, Milwaukee, Wis.

$295

26

George Hack, Cleveland, Ohio

295

27

Ray Orf, St. Louis, Mo.

295

28

Ron Gaudern, St. Louis, Mo.

295

29

Phil Audi, Canton, Ohio

285

30

Frank Kolb, Jackson, N.J.

285

31

Mike Schmid, St. Paul, Minn.

285

32

Bob Thiel, Gary, Ind.

285

33

Ralph Engan, New York, N.Y.

275

34

Andy Rogoznica, Chicago, Ill.

275

35

Bill Tucker, Hollywood, Calif.

275

36

Fred Cieslik, Cleveland, Oiho

275

37

Fred Lening, Fairless Hills, Pa.

265

38

Charles Wilkinson, Salinas Calif.

265

39

Frank Carter, Memphis, Tenn.

265

40

Stan Cramer, Lindenwood, N.J.

265

41

Gerry Credendino, Elmsford, N.Y.

255

42

Tom Conty, Toledo, Ohio

255

43

Roy Lown, EI Paso, Texas

255

44

Dale Whisler, Dayton, Ohio

255

45

Bill Koehler, Lincoln, Neb.

250

46

Bill Schaufert, Cincinnati, Ohio

250

47

Don McClaren, St. Louis, Mo.

250

48

Tom Hennessey, St. Louis, Mo.

250

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